Lake Love
by LoganAlpha30
Summary: A story of one possible view of things after the final battle between two who deserved to be together sooner. Reviews are always welcome.


**LAKE LOVE**

 **Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters, takes place right after the final battle.**

Hogwarts-Beside The Lake

"What did you want to talk to me about Ron," Hermione wondered aloud with a curious scrunching up of her forehead as she allowed Ron to lead her by the hand to the edge of the lake.

"There's something that I need to get off of my chest and if I don't do it now I don't know if I ever will," Ron answered through a deep breath as he unhappily let go of Hermione's hand before he turned towards the lake and looked out over it, his back to Hermione.

"O…kay," Hermione nervously answered as she looked as unsure as she possibly could before something willed her to take a step forward and reach a hand up to Ron's shoulder, expecting the worst.

"I need to tell you now that I'm totally rubbish," Ron relented sorrowfully as he hung his head and set his hands on his hips as he feared her reaction and tried to keep his eyes from getting more than a bit wet.

"Ron what…you're not," Hermione declared in as strong and matter of fact tone of voice as she tried to turn Ron around to face her but he momentarily resisted her attempts.

"But I am Hermione, you know it…Harry knows it, everybody knows it," Ron continued with a fair amount of self-loathing in his voice as he slowly turned around and found himself unable to look anywhere but looking Hermione in the eye, hating himself even more when he saw how wet hers were already.

"Ron stop, where is this all coming from, you're not," Hermione interrupted as she was now feeling very upset and just a little bit angry as she took another step forward and took hold of both of Ron's wrists, hoping to make him fully face her and explain himself.

"Last year…Lavender and Krum, it was all wrong," Ron answered softly, the look of guilt and anger at himself clearly visible in his eyes, as he broke free of Hermione's grasp and started to slowly walk away from her.

"What do they have to do with you, Lavender's…and Viktor is," Hermione demanded angrily as she hurried to get in front of him and make him tell her what was really going on and where he was headed with this all.

"Nothing and everything, you see before me and Lavender…Harry and I ran into Ginny and Dean kissing…as usual I didn't exactly take it very well…Ginny and I got into a row and she told me that you and Krum…and that I was the only one that hadn't, I know it was stupid and all but when Lavender kissed me I just," Ron slowly answered as he agonized over every word, still being a little bit angry at Ginny though knowing that he shouldn't be, as he tried to pick his words carefully as he knew that in his head the words were threatening to just tumble out in random order and he knew that he needed to at least try to stay on track.

"What Ron, what about Viktor, what was so important, why does it always come back to…," Hermione countered quickly as she reached up and put her hands on his chest so that he couldn't slip by her as she then forced him back a couple of steps towards the lake, showing him that she wasn't going to back down. All the while her mind whirled at what Ron could possibly have against Viktor Krum that would make him get so angry every time that his name was brought up.

"She said that you two had snogged, I know that it shouldn't have bothered me and that it shouldn't have mattered that I'd never kissed anyone before that but it did, a lot," Ron stated as fast as he could say the words while still making sure that she'd understand them before he flinched, preparing himself for another possible bird attack from the brunette witch that he loved.

"S…Sorry Ron but I still don't see what me kissing Viktor has to do with any of this, or you being rubbish," Hermione stuttered through as there was the beginning of a reason for Ron's actions starting to form in her mind but her more rational side told her that the idea that she had come up with couldn't possibly be the reason. Surely Ron's reason couldn't be that simple…could it.

"Because it's just another thing that he'll always have over me, yet another way that I can never measure up to him, another reason for you to," Ron bemoaned his failures as he then took hold of Hermione by her arms and lifted her out of his way, all the while being very careful to not squeeze to hard so that he didn't hurt her.

"Why do you care about how you measure up to Viktor or anyone else for that matter, besides that was three years ago," Hermione argued while looking a bit put off at having been moved out of his way without her permission before he cut in.

"I know that it shouldn't matter but it does, because it just proves that there's nothing that I could offer you that he couldn't offer more of, and I couldn't take it if we…and then you…, I couldn't…," Ron interjected softly as he was surprised to find himself struggling to keep his composure and get the words out without breaking down and messing the whole thing up.

"If we what Ron, why does it matter," Hermione demanded with her brow furrowing in frustration and no small amount of anger as she hurried to get back in front of him, almost tripping backwards over a nearby stump in the process.

"It matters because if you and I…were together…like…Harry and Ginny, and then you figured out that I'd just be a big disappointment in the end, then the other shoe would drop and you'd figure out that you should be with Viktor instead of me, that I'll only ever fail you," Ron trotted out as he cast his eyes downward towards the ground rather than look Hermione in the eye and see a look of anger or revulsion that he thought might be upon her face because of his answer.

"What are you talking about, you've never failed me," Hermione snapped as she reached up and put her hands on Ron's shoulders so that she could force him to look up at her and give her a straight answer as she was still no closer to figuring out exactly what Ron was trying to tell her.

"Blimey Hermione but I did didn't I, I left when you needed me most see…it proves what I'm saying, that I'm completely rubbish, it proves that you were right to share your first kiss with Viktor instead of me," Ron let out through a series of groans as he brushed past Hermione and came to sit down on the stump before he dropped his head into his hands and wasn't happy to find that his eyes were indeed wet.

"Ron…but you came back, you were there when I needed you most at Malfoy's, and Viktor kissed me…I wanted my first kiss to be with," Hermione pleaded with Ron softly as her brilliant mind whirled for once in tune with her heart as she first stood over him and hoped that her words would lift his spirits and stand back up to face her, but when that didn't happen she instead knelt down in front of him.

"Someone like him see Hermione, someone that can give you the life that you deserve, because I know that it's not me…I'm just the guy who'd just screw it all up like I always have," Ron lamented as he forced himself to lift his head just far enough to look Hermione in the eye though it almost broke his heart when he saw the unshed tears in her eyes and the look of full worry and concern.

"Stop it right there Ronald Weasley, you don't get to tell me what I deserve," Hermione snarled with much more anger than she had intended to as she pushed Ron up to a fully seated position and made sure that he was looking her in the eye by the end of her response.

"But," Ron weakly tried to object as he then suddenly found it impossible to look Hermione in the eye which caused him to drop his head again as the first tears slid down his nose and dropped silently to the grass below.

"But nothing, yes you left but you came back and saved me…me and Harry, just like you have since the day we first met, Harry wouldn't have made it this far without you…I…I wouldn't have made it out of Malfoy's manor without you, Harry couldn't have done it alone you know that…on top of that we all needed Shell cottage, we needed safety," Hermione declared as forcefully as she could without shouting as she didn't feel like her yelling at Ron was really what he needed right now as her insides her now tying themselves into knots with the fear that the worst was yet to come and she wasn't sure that she was ready for it.

"Maybe, but I can never measure up to…I'll never be a somebody, it's just like that damn locket said," Ron grumbled out under his breath for a bit before he almost became ill at the thought of his experience with the locket, an experience that he'd forced Harry to go over more than once since that night in the forest and each time Harry had adamantly told him that in his mind everything that the spirits or whatever they were had said was a lie in his book and that Ron shouldn't keep reliving it over and over again in his mind. It was an experience that Ron had relived several times in his dreams ever since that night, though after what had happened at Malfoy Manor Ron had decided that his nightmares paled in comparison to what Hermione must be going through and so he didn't have room to talk. In fact it had because of those nightmares that he had been awake to overhear Hermione crying in her sleep those long nights by the sea.

"Excuse me, the locket talked…lockets don't talk Ron, but Harry said that it screamed a bit, so…," Hermione wondered aloud as she looked totally confused before she recounted what Harry had said that night in the forest and tried to tell herself that she'd always known that there was more to it than that.

"Harry lied to cover up my stupidity, to cover up me being a dumb gullible git, the locket made me think things…see and hear things, things that weren't real," Ron admitted as guiltily as he could while feeling very disgusted with himself suddenly as he tried not to look at Hermione but for some reason he found it impossible to look anywhere but look her right in the eye.

"Ron…what happened, tell me…please," Hermione dreaded saying the words because she feared both the pain that it would obviously cause Ron and because of what she feared may have happened that would have lead to both Harry and Ron lying to her about it for now several months.

"N…No, don't make me…please," Ron pleaded back to her as he closed his eyes and shook his head, an act which only served to make the memories of that horrible encounter flood back into his brain. His only saving grace was the fact that he could feel Hermione's hands on his knees first before they moved up his arms until they cupped his face.

"Ron…I need you to tell me what happened, please…I can't help you if you don't tell me," Hermione whispered softly and pleadingly to him as she pushed herself up far enough so that she could rest her forehead against his, a feat that she quickly became aware of just how tall Ron had become since they first met.

"Fine…as soon as Harry opened the damn thing he…not Harry Vol-, You-Know-Who really did it good with that locket…his voice came out of it and taunted me, he knew my fears," Ron started to explain as his gaze left Hermione's face and instead became focused on the surface of the lake, as if the slight ripples on its surface began to hypnotize him.

"Please Ron, please tell me…I can't help you if I don't know what happened," Hermione added as she reluctantly had to let go of Ron's face lest he notice that her hands had begun to shake, to try and combat this she instead gripped his thighs as tightly as she could without going too far up his legs.

"A green mist came from the locket and formed into you and Harry…like you were both made out of the mist, you both…said things…that I was the least loved, always by the mother who had craved a daughter, least loved then by the girl who preferred Harry, second best always, eternally overshadowed," Ron relayed to her and had to curl up his toes in his shoes to keep from looking enough at Hermione's face to see the rollercoaster of emotions that she was going through as he felt if he looked her fully head on that he never would have been able to get it all out.

"H…how horrible, but Ron," Hermione gasped back with her voice suddenly feeling very hoarse and any words that she could speak died in her throat in a vain attempt at trying to comfort Ron before he continued.

"There's more…then they…those things…asked why I had returned, they said that the two of you were better off without me, happier without me, glad that I wasn't there, they said that you had laughed at my stupidity and cowardice…presumption, then the one that looked like you started in…who could look, who would ever look at me beside Harry Potter, what had I ever done compared to the chosen one, what was I compared to the one who lived," Ron added softly as he fought through the shudders and sobs that wracked his body and hurt his chest as he fought to keep himself upright and clear headed enough to get through it without totally breaking down. Whether by sheer chance or design he would look back later and say that the only reason he'd made it through that portion of relaying the locket's attack was because Hermione had interlaced her fingers with his and gave both of his hands a good reassuring squeeze. Though he would never be sure if she had done it more out of hoping to reassure him or because she had flinched at every accusation instinctively and couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Stop it Ron, please…no more," Hermione softly begged through the tears that were now cascading unheeded down her cheeks as she was finding it increasingly more difficult to take a breath and her stomach was in so much turmoil that she felt like she could retch at any moment. As Ron opened his mouth she pulled her hands back and made a move to cover her ears and squeeze her eyes tightly shut, almost then wishing that she had never asked him about it the first place.

"That's what I thought, but it didn't stop there…your mother confessed, that she would have preferred Harry as a son, would be glad to exchange…then the one that looked like you she…she started in…who wouldn't prefer him, what woman would take you, you are nothing, nothing, nothing to him…then the worst bit," Ron commented softly to Hermione as he suddenly found the strength to look her in the eye as if he was looking for her immediate reaction to the words as he spoke them.

"There's nothing that could possibly be worse than," Hermione interjected as she pulled her hands off of her ears, never minding the stream of tears that were cascading down her cheeks, before she cupped Ron's face in her hands again, hoping that she'd finally heard the end of it all.

"They snogged like their lives depended on it…I couldn't…I couldn't take it anymore and I stabbed the effing locket…the…whatever they were had gone, but they'd…I know that I can't remember much usually but that's not something I think that I'll ever be able to forget," Ron finished off as his own voice was now seemingly threatening to give out at any second as another wave of self-revulsion swept over him and he again relived that whole nightmare in his mind before Hermione stepped up.

"Well…well…they were wrong, she was wrong…she…no…that thing…asked what woman would take you…I would…I do, and I always will," Hermione awkwardly filtered through her words, as her heart was pounding like mad to such a degree that the world suddenly went deathly quiet, before her body seemed to detach itself from her mind and act of its own accord after she finished speaking. Without giving him a chance to speak again Hermione pushed herself up and forward by the tips of her toes, almost literally launching herself at Ron, until her lips crashed against his. The force or her headlong rush was so much so both she and Ron tumbled backwards until they fell off the stump and onto the ground though neither seemed to really notice as they were far too busy snogging. It felt like forever for the pair but only lasted for a few brief seconds before they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat loudly.

"Wha…Harry," Ron mumbled out in awe as he finally found his voice through his and Hermione's combined tears before the bespectacled champion opened his mouth.

"You two sure look cozy," Harry remarked with an impish grin and his hands in his pockets as he cocked his head to one side and stared down at his two best friends with a fake tone of sarcasm in his voice before Hermione cut in.

"POTTER," Hermione cried out at the top of her lungs, or at least as loudly and angrily as she could at that moment, before she reluctantly jumped up and out of Ron's arms.

"Gulp," Harry yelped out in fear and panic with his eyes the size of dinner plates before he turned on his heel and tore off back towards the ruins of Hogwarts with Hermione hot on his heels.

"Run Harry run," Ginny exclaimed loudly with a sly little grin as she watched Hermione race off after Harry for a bit before she helped Ron up to his feet and the two embraced warmly. They couldn't help but laugh together as they then headed off towards the castle.

END OF LAKE LOVE 1

Note: I'm an ardent Ron/Hermione fan and feel that Rowling listened to the Harry/Hermione fans that only saw the movies as in the books it doesn't exist. I only wish that Ron and Hermione had gotten together sooner, like in the 5th book if not the 6th and the whole crappy Lavender pairing was only to stall for time before the 7th book, after all Ron got poisoned pretty suddenly and then the trio were back together again. I only get angry at Harry and Ginny in the 6th book as they knew why Ron and Lavender were together, knew that Hermione was hurting and wanted to know what was going on and neither said anything. Also it's funny if you really think about it by the end of the books Harry and Hermione's heights are about five foot eight or so but Ron has to at least be six foot two or so, so he'd tower over them both. Another good Ron/Hermione story is DragonHeart by BuckNC, it starts out Draco/Hermione but don't let that stop you.


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